Cabin Fever

This time of year, it's easy to catch a raging case of "Cabin Fever". Now, I've lived in Wisconsin my entire life, and I'm used to long, cold winters. But every year at about this time, my patience runs short, and I'm eager to get out of the house to spend more time outdoors.

We were teased with warmer weather a few weeks ago when temperatures sky-rocketed into the low 70's; an amazing feat for late-March. Jack and I even took a trip to the zoo in which I had to be careful that Jack didn't get too much sun. But a recent winter storm desecrated our green grass and tulips, and insured that our furnace would not be going on vacation any time soon.

This is now my second spring season as a stay-at-home dad. This year the desire to get outside seems to be just a little more intense. It might be because Jack is eager to get outside as well, which means there are now two of us with our noses pressed up against the windows. Now that Jack is almost 19 months old, all he really wants to do is run, explore, and run some more. So dealing with confides of the house is just way too constricting. It's a big world out there, and Jack is eager to discover it.

To help maintain sanity, (for both Jack and myself), we have to be extra-creative in finding fun ways to pass the time. Books that we've read 900 times throughout the winter just won't cut it. No, we must think outside the box--or in this case, outside the home. Tomorrow night, we are taking a field trip to see the Milwaukee Admirals take on the Chicago Wolves in an American Hockey League showdown. It will be Jack's first hockey game, and I'm curious to see his reaction.

While the hockey game won't provide the warmth of an afternoon sitting in the sun, it will offer Jack and me a chance to get out of the house for a few hours. For Jack, it will be a brand new experience to see the speed and excitement of professional hockey. And hopefully, we'll both enjoy some minor relief to our accute Cabin Fever.